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Healthy Living Articles

Are you ready for another round on the golf course? A few more
minutes in the garden? Or the big race? Try these valuable tips and
insights on topics ranging from healthy living, to the benefits of
joint health, to proper exercising techniques that help you live life
on your terms. Just click on a link below and live more informed!

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Body & Soul

Stretch It!

Find out how a few simple stretches and pre- and post-workout exercises can make your workouts and your activities more comfortable, and more productive.

You made a decision to regularly work out from now on? Congratulations! But before you start, you should know about a few exercises that will help you avoid some of the most common injuries caused by muscle overuse during walking, hiking, running, swimming or cycling. Do the following moves at the end of your warm-up or right after your workout.

To avoid tight calf and foot muscles when walking, face a wall, stretch out your arms and place your palms on the wall. Put one leg behind you and press the heel into the floor until you feel the stretch in the back of your leg. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times. Then repeat with your other leg.

Before you go hiking, balance on one foot, bend your knee and slowly lower your body a couple of inches with a straight back. Slowly straighten your knee and stand upright again, then rotate your upper body from the hip from left to right. Repeat 10 times and switch to the other leg. This will strengthen your ankle.

If you are a runner, you can avoid knee problems by pressing your back against a wall and slowly sliding down with feet flat on the floor until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold for 30 seconds, then return to an upright position. Repeat 5 times.

To avoid shoulder pains during and after swimming, you can do the following exercise: stand up with slightly bent knees, feet hip-width apart and lean forward from the waist with arms hanging down. Hold a weight (3 to 5 pounds) in each hand and slowly lift arms to the sides away from the body with your shoulder blades moving towards each other. Hold for a few seconds, then return to starting position. Repeat 10 times.

To counter lower back pain while cycling, get down on hands and knees and slowly extend and lift your right arm and left leg. Look towards the floor, keeping your body stable and your abs contracted. Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 5 times. Then switch to the opposite side. When you take the time to perform some of these simple stretches, you'll keep up with your life in top form!

Escape from the Computer Mouse Trap

Nowadays, more and more people are faced with RSI syndrome (short for Repetitive Strain Injury) as a result of mouse-related work. Caused by permanent tension, repetitive motions and an unnatural position of the arm the symptoms range from numbness or tingling in the fingers to a pain extending to the shoulder. As it is best to counter initial symptoms before they develop into a full blown condition, here are some things you can do to avoid mouse-related pains:

Change your position as much as possible and take regular breaks. Get up and walk around if you don’t have to be at your desk (i.e. while talking on the phone or reading a print-out). If you sit down, keep your back straight and your shoulders pulled back with your pelvis slightly tilted forward. If your muscles start hurting relax your back and rotate your shoulders. Avoid a hunched over position.

Use a mouse that fits your hand and rest your hand when you are not using it. Keep your hand and wrist straight when clicking or typing. Use a computer tablet and pen or switch to keyboard commands to avoid excessive mouse clicking.
If you are already suffering from symptoms, you can alleviate the pain by putting ice (cold pack) on the inflicted area. Wearing a wrist brace or elbow support and using speech recognition software will also diminish tension. Various relaxation methods, regular stretching exercises and massage might also help you get rid of the pain so you can concentrate on your work instead.

Water Fitness

Water fitness is for everyone! Swimming, water aerobics or water jogging can be refreshing and enjoyable ways to work out or cross train. If you are suffering from arthritis or other chronic conditions involving joint or back pain, water fitness might just be your key to virtually painless and injury-free training. In water you weigh about one tenth of your weight on land. So water workouts cause less strain on your joints and increase your range of motion as the liquid supports the weight of your limbs.

At the same time water provides you with 12 times as much resistance as air. Therefore, by exercising in water you are conditioning all your muscle groups at once as they are worked out into every direction. According to recent research, water fitness might even help maintain bone integrity and prevent osteoporosis.

What’s more, due to the hydrostatic pressure of water there are cardiovascular benefits comparable to those of cycling and running.

It doesn’t matter whether you prefer breaststroke, free style, backstroke or aqua aerobics as long as you don’t overuse certain muscle groups. Just remember to switch between styles for increased variety, effect and fun!

Eating Against Arthritis

Even if you cannot cure arthritis with food, there is a good chance that symptoms are alleviated by the right kind of diet. Keep in mind that one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Individual preferences and habits as well as allergies should always be taken into account.

One thing is true for everyone suffering from arthritis: being overweight is a strain both on weight-bearing joints and on the immune system. Because fasting and crash diets should be avoided, it’s better to modify your eating habits in order to get permanent effects. This means that if you carry excess weight, decrease your calorie intake and adopt a balanced diet containing all the necessary food groups, vitamins and minerals that keep you healthy.

Another important step is decreasing your intake of sugar and fat and eating more vegetables and salads. You don’t have to cut down on all fats: mono-saturated fats (i.e. in olive oil) and poly-saturated fats (i.e. in flaxseed and sun flower oil) are actually good for you. Saturated fats, mainly contained in meat and dairy products, should not be eaten in excess.

Omega-3 fats, part of the poly-saturated fat groups, are specifically known to help reduce inflammation. They can be found in oily fish, flaxseed, canola oil and leafy green vegetables. Before you drastically change your diet check with your doctor whether your medication is interacting with your diet and what else you can do to help your body deal with arthritis.

The Yoga/Pilates Fix

While regular activities such as running or swimming keep your body healthy and strong, they might also result in uneven wear of muscles and joints, lack of flexibility and ultimately, discomfort. That’s why more and more professional athletes turn to Yoga or Pilates to complement their workout and to rebalance body and soul. You can too!

With Yoga you can prepare your body for the strain that comes with exercise. Deep breathing and stretching stimulate blood circulation and make sore and shortened muscles more flexible. Yoga also helps you avoid injuries, counter physical and emotional stress and open up body areas that are tense or off-balance. Pilates has similar effects with a focus on stabilizing the “core” of the body – the back and abdomen.

Doing a few Yoga or Pilates exercises before or after the workouts or on the days in between will not only enhance your fitness level but will also improve your concentration, inner balance and general well-being.

Healthy Gardening

You don’t have to work out in a gym – tending your garden is also good for you! Planting your own flowers, vegetables, trees and bushes helps you unwind, support your immune system and gently work your muscles. Scientists have even found out that gardening ranks next to weight training when it comes to strengthening your bones. It also works great for arthritis if you follow a few rules:

Always do a warm-up and stretch your muscles before you start working in your yard. Use long-handled tools with easy-to-grip padding and bend as little as possible. If you have to stoop, bend at the knees and keep your back straight. For work that takes longer, sit on a low chair or on your knees.

Don’t carry too heavy a load and make sure you have everything you need close by. Provide for a nearby water source and tool shed. Wear an apron with enough pockets for your most important tools. Use a hand truck or dolly for heavy items such as soil, fertilizer, etc.

Change positions often and alternate with walks. If you feel tired or worn out, stop working. Gardening several times a week for a short while is better than exhausting yourself once a week.

Plant perennial and easy-to-care-for plants that don’t require regular pruning. Even if you don’t have a garden or cannot stoop to seed flower beds you can use containers or clay pots. Just remember: Gardening is all about the pleasure of seeing your own plants grow.

Support Level:
Provides adjustable levels of compression, support and therapeutic heat retention to help relieve symptoms associated with strains, sprains, arthritis and muscle pain. Comfortable for all day wear or for specific activities.

Support Level:
Provides fitted and anatomically correct stabilizing support to help Relieve symptoms associated with strains, sprains, arthritis, repetitive stress injuries and to help prevent re-injury. Flexible stabilizers may be removable and customizable for comfort.

Support Level:
Provides a higher level of support using a combination of power stretch and non-stretch materials and may include shock absorbing materials to help relieve symptoms associated with strains, sprains, arthritis, repetitive stress injuries and to help prevent re-injury.

Support Level:
Provides a higher level of support using a combination of power Stretch and non-stretch materials and may include shock absorbing materials to help relieve symptoms associated with strains, sprains, arthritis, repetitive stress injuries and to help prevent re-injury.